Bunin says challenges to organic standards for aquaculture abound
While a farmer can control the inputs on to his land, ensuring that fertilizer and pest management and other products meet organic standards, that level of control isn’t really available in a natural body of water, says Lisa Bunin, CFS’s organic policy coordinator. For example, pollutants move freely through water, making it almost impossible to ensure a fish raised organically is not exposed. Further, some fish, such as salmon, are migratory, and stopping that migration would be adverse to the spirit of organic, Bunin adds.
“We are skeptical because we don’t know the system in which we are talking about allowing aquaculture to take place. Does there need to be a synthetic environment for where these fish are grown” in order to be able to fully control the environment and ensure the fish are fully organic, Bunin says.